Couple killed by suspected drunken driver

VALLEY CENTER  A couple in their late 70s who walked in the mornings holding hands in Valley Center were killed early Sunday when a suspected drunken driver veered into them, according to the California Highway Patrol.

Earl Smith Jr., 20, of Oceanside, was arrested at the scene and taken to the Vista detention center, according to the CHP. Smith was booked on suspicion of felony driving under the influence of alcohol and vehicular manslaughter. The investigation is ongoing.

The accident occurred at 6:15 a.m. when Smith drove a 2011 Toyota Corolla eastbound on Old Castle Road near Mauka Drive. According to the CHP, the couple, a 79-year-old man and 78-year-old woman, were walking eastbound when the car hit them.

Officials haven’t released the identities, but neighbors referred to the couple as “Mr. and Mrs. Ackermann.” Public records show that a Carl and Eunice Ackermann live at the address listed as the residence of the deceased couple on the medical examiner’s website.

Neighbors in the area of the accident were in shock as they learned of the couple’s death, as their walking ritual had endeared them to the community.

“It seems like they had been doing it forever,” said Michael Dodge, who has lived in the community for 12 years. He would see them on mornings that he would go to a nearby dog park. Dodge said the Ackermanns would collect cans and bottles along the stretch of their walk.

“I didn’t know them personally, but everyone knew them. I think everyone is in shock,” Dodge said. “The first thing that I could think of was that they probably died doing the same thing they did every day — holding hands.”

Dodge said car wrecks are common along the stretch of Old Castle Road, which is used heavily by people headed to several of the region’s casinos.